Different points of view
New Mammoth Council off to a BAD start.
In spite of opposition from Viewpoint Condominium tenants (see Letters), Mammoth’s Town Council unanimously approved the proposed Benefit Assessment District (BAD) for Viewpoint Condominiums and the Mammoth View Project near the corner of Main Street and Minaret Road.
According to the Assessment Engineer’s report, an assessment district authorizes the levying and collection of money from benefiting properties within the proposed area. The collected funds go toward infrastructure improvements that will, presumably, benefit the assessed properties.
Improvements funded by this particular assessment district include maintenance of a new emergency access road, maintenance of a reconstructed Viewpoint Road, snow management and summer sweeping, sidewalk improvements along Main Street, streetlights, and banner maintenance.
The Assessment Engineer’s report delivered to Town staff indicated a maximum assessment for all 56 Viewpoint Condominium units of $10,550. The actual assessment proposed for Fiscal Year 2014-2015 is $6,090, or about $108 per unit.
The maximum assessment for the 55 Mammoth View parcels, which have yet to be built, is $21,814. The actual assessment proposed for FY 2014-2015 is $12,593, which would vary from about $85 to $128 for units, and from $803 for hotel retail to $4,636 for the hotel.
The impetus to create the benefit assessment district for Viewpoint and Mammoth View came from Mammoth View’s impending construction in spring of 2015. The Mammoth View project will include 24 townhouse condominium units, 28 condominium cabin units, and a 54-room hotel with a restaurant and spa.
Because of its size, the project necessitates the construction of an emergency access road. Mammoth View will also use Viewpoint Road for access, a road that is mostly within the CalTrans right of way, but rarely receives CalTrans funding for maintenance and repair.
Mammoth View agreed to pay for the construction of the emergency access road and rehabilitation of Viewpoint Road, which will widen Viewpoint Road from 20 to 24 feet. But the Town determined that an assessment district would be necessary to pay for maintenance of both roads, as well as additional improvements in the district.
However, Viewpoint Condominium owners debated whether certain proposed infrastructure improvements would have any special benefit to them.
“When these conversations were first initiated, we were told the cost would be in the magnitude of about $50 per year,” said Viewpoint tenant Christy Madden. “It wasn’t until we got the Engineers Report on the ballots that we saw the scope and cost of the project had ballooned exponentially.”
Madden noted in her letter to Council that initial talks with the Town and Mammoth View indicated the assessment district would only be paying for maintenance of Viewpoint Road. Madden argued that maintenance of the emergency access road should not fall to Viewpoint Condominiums, as Viewpoint had no intention of expanding, and therefore no requirement for an additional emergency access road.
“I take exception to the statement that the improvements are really special to us,” she said, pointing out that additional improvements included sidewalk maintenance along Main Street, Mountain View, and Alpine Circle. “Everybody goes up and down the Main Street sidewalks, and the street lights and banners are of general benefit to the community … If you want to include [the sidewalk], take into account the residents who would benefit from it,” she argued.
Madden requested a reconsideration of the boundaries of the assessment district, and with them, the overall assessment charged to Viewpoint tenants.
However, Public Works Director Grady Dutton pointed out that the Engineer’s report estimates the cost of sidewalk maintenance will be about 10 percent of the overall district assessment.
In the case of Viewpoint, that would be about $10 a year.
Dutton also argued that an emergency access road was “critical” to reduce liability in the entire district.
Councilmember Michael Raimondo questioned whether Viewpoint owners might not be getting a better deal with the assessment. “How much does it cost in HOA’s to maintain the existing [Viewpoint] road for a year?” he asked.
Viewpoint Manager and property owner Dave Nelson estimated between $25-50.
“We can do maintenance cheaper than what’s proposed,” Nelson said. “I’d love to see the boundary smaller.”
But Nelson voiced overall support for the assessment district. He noted that one of the greatest benefits of the district would be taking over maintenance of Viewpoint Road from CalTrans.
“Viewpoint Road has been the bastard road of Mammoth for a long time,” agreed Dave Harvey. With an assessment district to provide funding for the road, “I’m happy to see that coming to an end at this point.”
Mammoth View spokesman Hector Caldera also offered his support for the assessment district. He pointed out that Mammoth View has agreed to shoulder the cost of construction for the contested sidewalk, emergency access road, and Viewpoint Road. Should the district boundary shrink, Mammoth View would contribute less to the overall assessment district, forcing Viewpoint to shoulder 40 percent more for the remaining infrastructure within the district.
With Mammoth View included in a larger district boundary, Caldera said the two developments could more equally share the burden of funding necessary improvements.
But Madden questioned why Viewpoint Condominiums would be contributing immediately to district improvements partly intended for a beneficiary (Mammoth View) that might not exist for several years, if ever.
“If something happens to the project, we would bring [the assessment] back to Council,” said Dutton. Any money collected from Mammoth View through the assessment would have to be returned.
Viewpoint tenants needed to present a majority protest against the levy of assessments. Town Clerk Jamie Gray tabulated the protest and concluded that Viewpoint had provided only 12 percent against the benefit assessment district.
The benefit assessment district will begin collecting funds in Dec. 2014
